2008 Gateway to the Best Official Rules

ELIGIBILITY:

Only writers and entries meeting ALL of the following requirements may enter this contest:

(a) all writers of the entry are unpublished and not contracted in novel-length fiction (over 40,000 words) within the last 3 years;

(b) this entry, whether revised in whole or in part, has not previously finaled in this contest in any category;

(c) each entry is only entered once in the contest. No alternate versions of the same manuscript may be entered in the same or different categories.

Very Important Note: If MORWA discovers the writer or the entry does not meet these requirements, the entry fee will be forfeited and non-refundable, and the entry will not be judged, critiqued, or returned.

The first 150 entries are guaranteed. Additional entries are subject to judge availability and coordinator sanity.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA:

Writer must submit up to the first 25 pages of manuscript in the following format:

(a) 12-pt Courier or Times New Roman font.

(b) double-spaced.

(d) no more than 25 lines per page.

(e) Header must include:

(i) name of entry,

(ii) first-choice category (see Judge & Category page), and

(iii) page number.

(f) Word (.doc) or rich text (.rtf) format.

(g) Author’s name may NOT be anywhere on manuscript.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST: Writer must submit:

Writer must send SEPARATE entry packages for each manuscript entered. A complete submission package includes:

_______ Completed electronic entry form with all blanks filled in (one for each entry).

_______ Manuscript satisfying the submission criteria.

_______ Completed and correct Paypal electronic payment OR check or money order received prior to deadline. (One check/money order may be submitted for multiple entries.)

ENTRANCE FEE:

Non-MORWA members—$30 USD for first manuscript and

$15 USD for each additional manuscript.

MORWA members—$20 USD for first manuscript and

$10 USD for each additional manuscript.

To be eligible for MORWA fee, ALL authors of the manuscript must be MORWA members.

To be eligible for half-priced additional manuscripts, ALL authors on first manuscript and additional manuscript must be the same.

Paypal, personal check, or money order only. Entries will be disqualified if checks do not clear on first attempt.

Personal checks and money orders must be received no later than September 9, 2008. Send to:

Gateway to the Best Contest
c/o Susan Wienstroer, MORWA Treasurer
13516 Sunset Ridge Lane
St. Louis, MO 63128

DEADLINE:

ENTRY and PAYMENT must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. CST on Tuesday, September 9, 2008.

Any entry received after 11:59 p.m. CST on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 will be NOT be accepted.

Failure to meet the deadline will result in automatic forfeit of any monies paid, whether by check, money order, or Paypal. Payments will not be returned, refunded, or rolled over to subsequent years’ contests.

Contestants from outside the U.S. or Canada are urged to e-mail the contest coordinator prior to deadline to notify her of your entry.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

The Judge’s Score Sheet is provided at for your review via the link at the top of this page and on the main contest pages. Three copies of each entry will be judged, with the lowest score dropped from the final tabulations. Anonymously listed results of category scores will be provided after contest is completed, so entrants know where in the contest results their entry fell.

Final judges will be asked, but not required, to complete a one-page basic judging sheet, so that final contestants have some idea why their entry scored the way it did.

For more information on the Final Judges, see our main contest page.

PRIZES:

First, second, and third places are awarded in each category. If insufficient entries are received in any category, categories may be combined.

The first place winners will each receive a certificate, a one-year membership to MORWA (e-mail newsletter only), the Gateway charm, and an electronic banner announcing the win for the author’s website.

The second place winners will each receive a certificate and a one-year membership to MORWA (e-mail newsletter only).

The third place winners will each receive a certificate.

Grand Prize:

The Grand Prize Winner will receive US $100, a full reading and critique of her entire manuscript by a major Published Author, a certificate, and a "Gateway to the Best Grand Prize Winner" electronic banner announcing the win for the author’s website.

The Grand Prize will be awarded to the first-place entry that earned the highest overall score in the first round. In the event of a tie, the Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry with the highest score in characterization; if there is still a tie, the Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry with the highest score in the following categories (in order until there is no tie): dialogue, conflict, other story elements, and style and mechanics.

The Grand Prize Winner (“Winner”) will receive a Gateway Best of the Best certificate and a full reading and critique of her/his entire manuscript by one major Published Author, including, but not limited to, Michele Dunaway, Elizabeth Grayson, Charlotte Hubbard, Alexa Hunt, Melissa MacNeal, Patricia Rice, Shirl Henke, and Karyn Witmer.

The Winner’s entire manuscript (in whole or in part), whether e-mail or printed copy, must be received by Contest Coordinator within one month after the announcement of the Winner (see Timeline, below). Failure to do so will forfeit awarding of grand prize critique but not the other parts of the Grand Prize. Grand Prize critique is not transferable to any other person or to any other manuscript. Winner’s full manuscript may not exceed 450 single-sided pages, double-spaced (25 lines per page), in Courier font with 1-inch margins.

The Contest Coordinator will try to match the Winner’s manuscript with a Published Author experienced in the genre of the winning manuscript, subject to our volunteer authors’ other commitments. Published Author chosen to perform the Grand Prize critique will have up to four months from receipt of the entire manuscript from Contest Coordinator to read Winner’s manuscript and return a critique. Published Author may choose to critique entire manuscript by e-mail, by standard manuscript edit, by electronic redline, or by phone.

If Published Author chooses an electronic critique, Winner must e-mail a copy of entire winning manuscript in either .doc or .rft format to Contest Coordinator (or to e-mail address preferred by Published Author).

If Published Author chooses standard manuscript, Winner must send a printed copy of entire manuscript (in standard manuscript format detailed above) along with a return SASE (Tyvek envelope with sufficient postage) to Contest Coordinator via US Mail. Published Author will have approximately four months to read manuscript and write or type comments, compliments, criticism, or suggestions in or on the manuscript (“Critique”).

If Published Author chooses phone critique, Published Author will set up a mutually agreeable time for the phone critique. Phone critique will be conducted by Published Author calling Winner on a one-hour calling card supplied by MORWA. If Published Author chooses phone critique, Published Author will not be expected to give any written critique (unless Published Author so chooses). Instead, Winner will be expected to take notes during the phone conversation. Winner may not record the phone conversation without Published Author’s prior express written consent.

The comments from the Published Author are for the entrant’s personal use in revising her/his manuscript and are not to be reprinted, published, or used in a public forum without the Published Author’s express written consent. Manuscript comments are the express opinion of the Published Author and do not represent any indication of endorsement for the work. The Winner is prohibited from using Published Author’s name without Published Author’s express written consent in any communications, whether electronic, oral, or written, including but not limited to cover letters and queries to agents and editors.

TIMELINE:

Submissions and payment must be received by 11:59 p.m., CST, September 9, 2008.

First round finalists will be notified by around October 31, 2008.

Category winners and Grand Prize Winner will be notified by approximately December 10, 2008.

Grand Prize Winner will have one month to make corrections to the first 25 pages and send the entire manuscript no later than January 10, 2008 to Contest Coordinator. Awarding of Grand Prize will depend on Published Author’s schedule but will be completed within approximately four months of receipt of entire manuscript.